Chocolate Store Reviews and More

Use the geographic index to stores by location.

Glossary

Type:

The category of chocolate. Basic types are Junk, Standard, and Fine. Fine chocolatiers use high quality chocolate, and Standard chocolatiers use good quality, but the chocolate quality is not the only characteristic of the types. Fine chocolate celebrates the wonder of chocolate, and the chocolate flavor in fine pieces is usually quite distinct. Standard chocolate is aimed more at eating pleasure than tasting pleasure.

Typically, truffles and artisan chocolates are Fine. Nut clusters, creams, and caramels are usually Standard. Most chocolate in your grocery store candy aisle is Junk. However, particular pieces can cross boundaries if they are made with better or worse chocolate and are executed better or more poorly than others in their category.

Some chocolatiers cross types, so I have been creative in describing their mixes. Type is meant to describe the chocolate, not to rate it. Some Standard chocolatiers are recommended over some fine chocolatiers. For a rating, see my conclusion for each chocolatier.

Junk chocolate is that stuff you typically find in grocery stores or bulk candy stores and is not reviewed here.

Conclusion:

Rather than a mechanical rating, I summarize my opinion of each chocolatier, typically by recommending how to use them.

One description I use repeatedly is "tour stop." This denotes a store I would want to visit when I am in the city, but one that I would likely not visit regularly if I lived there. It is a place to splurge when on vacation but not necessarily worth the price on a regular basis.

Price:

I include approximate price information as a guide. Prices do not include shipping. Rates may vary at a chocolatier for different size packages and different products. Typically, I will give the rate for a package of about a pound, but, for the very expensive chocolatiers, I use the rate for a smaller package. Also, since prices change over time, I give the year in which I checked each price. Because I did not record price information in the early years of my reviews, not all entries include prices. I will fill in prices as I go and would appreciate your reports.

When I started measuring the chocolates I received, I found a surprising number of chocolatiers gave me less than they advertised. I even tried different scales and measuring a known mass for comparison. When I receive less than the stated mass, I report the price based on what I received.

I report prices in local currency per pound. Using the pound gives a standard mass for comparison. I use it rather than the kilogram because I started my reviews with US stores and write primarily for a US audience. Although I convert kilograms to pounds, I report foreign currencies instead of converting them, because exchange rates fluctuate.

Shipping:

This is the domestic shipping cost for some order two pounds or under (or a kilogram when metric units are used). I started listing shipping costs in 2006 because too many chocolatiers now require expensive and wasteful overnight shipping. I have received more than a hundred chocolate shipments, so I have had plenty of opportunity to compare shipping methods. The expense of overnight or even two-day shipping is almost never worth it, either to prevent heat damage or to preserve freshness. I will count high shipping costs against chocolatiers.

The cost is the maximum charge at the cheapest rate. For example, if a shipper offers expensive overnight and cheap ground, I use the ground rate. That rate may differ for cross-country versus in-state, and I report the cross-country amount. I report this charge as a guide. Your charge may vary because of location, rate changes, speed, or fee structure.

Chart:

This indicates whether the chocolates come with a chart showing you what each piece in the box is. I will note if a chocolatier supplies no chart, drawings or descriptions, a map of box locations, or color photographs.

Microcrunch:

There is a texture I call "microcrunch" in my reviews. It feels as if nuts have been very finely ground, but I learned at Charles Chocolates that this is actually sugar. Nuts and sugar are cooked on a stove top and then mixed with chocolate.

Why is a Store Not Yet Reviewed?

What Stores Will I Review?

Since I cannot review everything, I usually do not review solid chocolates or chocolate bars. Here is a web site with reviews of solid chocolates and chocolate bars. I also limit my reviews in other ways, as described below.

Stores I Will Not Review

Technical problems.

Some web sites have technical problems. If I cannot place an order at a web site, I cannot recommend it to other people. They might use Java, ActiveX, Flash or other purported features that are non-standard, security hazards, or otherwise inconvenient or unsafe, and they do not provide ordinary HTML pages that can be used instead. When testing a site, I allow it to use cookies and JavaScript (but not Java), but my web filter screens out certain safety and privacy hazards (such as web bugs) and nuisances (such as pop-up windows). Previously, I tested with Internet Explorer 5.50 running under Windows ME. Now I also use Mozilla Firefox 1.5. Firefox has been distinctly better than Internet Explorer at accessing sites, so I recommend it. Sometimes I try Safari too, because I work at Apple. (Chocolate store proprietors and webmasters: See my web page advice in my advice to chocolatiers.)

Price.

Some chocolatiers charge over $100/lb. There are many excellent chocolatiers with lower prices, so there is little reason for anybody to pay more, and I am very unlikely to recommend a chocolatier with astronomical prices. Rather than waste my time and money reviewing a chocolatier I am unlikely to recommend, I prefer to sample better prospects. I will try some expensive chocolatiers if I am near their store and can purchase a small sample without paying shipping, or if I have some particular reason.

Shipping costs.

Some chocolatiers charge exhorbitant prices for overnight shipping. After experience with this, I decided overnight shipping is not worth the cost. Even some of the two-day or longer shipping charges are too expensive. If a chocolatier offers only expensive shipping, I am not inclined to review them. I have tried the best chocolate, and it can be very good, but I am not likely to recommend other people spend huge amounts of money to get it.

Legal issues.

If a store asks me to agree to a lengthy contract before placing an order, I will say no. Or if the terms are unacceptable, I will say no. Many people ignore the legal terms, but I cannot recommend people agree to bad terms.

Sometimes I do review chocolatiers in spite of the above issues. Some were added to my pages before these policies were created. Others may be added if there is some special reason to try them (such as I happen to travel to their city).

How to Dial International Phone Numbers

Note that in French phone numbers, the area code is shown as "(0)". When calling from outside France, you drop the 0, as the instructions say. Inside France, you always dial it.

© Copyright 1996 by Eric Postpischil.